The economic and social situation of South Slovakia in the light of some indicators
The Hungarian-inhabited region stretches along the entire southern border of Slovakia, somewhere in a wide, elsewhere in a thin strip. The region is divided into various regions, sites and dialects, these often reach over the other side of the border. The southern districts differ from the average Slovak districts in many aspects. If we look at the unemployment rate, for instance, irrespective of the outstanding results of Bratislava and Košice, in the 16 southern districts it is always significantly higher than the national average. The southern parts suffer much more from unemployment – it is especially evident in Štúrovo and Šahy –, but the situation is even more unfavourable in the regions with Hungarian majority. Despite the fact that the 16 Hungarian-inhabited districts differ from each other in many ways, and one or two – those situated close to Bratislava and Košice – may be in a better position than the national average, but from the economic point of view they still form one compact region, which generally is in a worse situation than the national average. This though does not mean that the southern border region is the most remote part of the country, but, in comparison with the Slovak national average, lagging is clearly detectable over the last two decades.